Over the Edge
by Cosmo-G1rl
Summary: Upon trying to figure out where to go next, Nyssia, Io, Ellipsis, Samantha and Jane get tangled with a secret war between two societies that have fighting since the age of Light. Now they are moments away before the Shadows Hand opens a portal to the Umbral Sphere and unleashing a nightmarish army into their world.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one:

It was a day unlike any other. A special meeting had been called and all were to report at once. Near the pier, a set of cars rolled up. All windows were blacken. They quickly exited their vehicles and made their way into the warehouse that was in front of them. It was a hot day. Hotter than usual. Since the city itself was destroyed the rubble and the debris still laid all scattered around. The men met inside the warehouse. Clothed in shadow they moved through the darkness. Inside the warehouse a set of chairs were placed. All twelve of the seats soon became occupied. From behind one man entered. "Gentlemen. I'm glad you could make it in such conditions and under short notice." The man moved forward and stood in front of all of them. They watched in silence. "Due to the unfortunate circumstances of Dr. Bronsworth demise, we have seem to be in a situation. As you know the Blood Moon of Anglemal is rapidly approaching and we are lost without Dr. Bronsworth. However, informants have revealed to us that the main component in Dr. Bronsworth research is no longer in our possession. It was stolen from us."

Whispers broke out between the men who were sitting in the chairs. "Gentlemen please. We have not entirely lost this main component. We believe it to be in the possession of a group of ragtag hoodlums. These were the assailants who killed Dr. Bronsworth. We must not let these people escape. We must not let the Soldiers of Light obtain this main component." The man held up a remote and with a single push of a button a screen dropped from above. "These are our targets." The man said and with another button a photo appeared. It was a picture of a young blonde girl. In the picture she is shown wielding a small handgun. "Samantha. Time Traveler. Engineer. Original possessor of the main component. Extremely dangerous." He pushed the button. This picture showed a woman with short red hair, reading a book. "Jane K. Scientist and recent employ working under Dr. Bronsworth. No threat." The next click of the button was followed with shrieks of horror. One man in the back bent over and puked. More murmuring broke out as the men in the chairs grew restless. "Gentlemen please. Do calm down! I know this is unsettling. But this is what we are up against." The man standing was obviously getting impatient. Though the picture itself did turn his stomach upside down as well. It was a picture of another young girl. Hair as red as fire. She was sitting at a conference table, pouring what looks like cups of coffee. She sat at the one of the table. In the rest of the chairs were headless bodies. Their fingers were smashed and some even had their hands nailed to the table. Blood was splattered all across the table. Several of the heads were placed on top of the table. Their jaws were ripped apart and inside were little coffee mugs. Teeth were scattered across the table and in the corner there seemed like a necklace made out of teeth in progress. The woman sat at the end with her bare feet up on the table. She wore a bus cap. And on her face, was a grin that sent shivers down everyone's spine inside the warehouse. "We do not know who this woman is or where she comes from. There appears to be no record of her at all. But all we know is that this one is extremely dangerous." The men nodded in agreement.

The next picture that came up was a picture of another young woman. She had short blue hair and was descending from the air vents. "This one is an interesting case. There appears to be a file on her. A large one. Ellipsis Tannin. Ex-spy, specializes in espionage, counter espionage, and assassination. She was recruited during the several world wars and has proven to be quiet a nuisance. We are not entirely sure of what she is capable of but from observations we know that she is of supernatural origin. This one should be taken out immediately if we are going to obtain the main component."

"And last but not least." The man said as he switched to the next photo. This one showed a large woman. She was tan and had short dyed pink hair. The photo showed her punching a guard in the face. "This one is interesting. We know she is of a pacific island origin. She was a pit fighter in an underground fighting ring. Her name is Io, though her last name is not known. No known family. Threat level would be moderate. Gentlemen. You have now seen the enemy. Copies of the briefing will be handed out. We must get the main component before the ritual can began. IF we fail we may never unlock the gateway to the Umbral Sphere and our queen may never rise again." With that said, the men all got up and left the warehouse. They piled back into their cars and drove off. The day was still young and there was much work to be done.

Meanwhile. On the other side of the ruined city, a bus stopped at a local diner on the edge of town. Inside, a group of friends were planning a trip. "I say we go see the championship fight of 87." Io said as she slammed her hands on the table. "I don't think seeing a fist fighting match that occurred a few decades ago would be a wise use of time traveling." Jane said as she folded her arms staring at Io. "We should use this new piece of technology for something useful. To discover what was lost in history and bring light to it." "Blah! Boring!" Nyssia said as she ducked under the table. "How about a nice trip in the past, like say a few hundred years. It would be nice to see what this city was like a few hundred years ago. Even before my time." Samantha said. "Uh. That's probably not such a good idea." Ellipsis said as she stared at the table with her head down. "Why not?" Samantha asked. "Well. Let's just say it involved the deputy's wife. Her sister. And a small badger. I'm not sure if we would last five minutes in the city." "Jeeze Blu." Io said as she leaned back in her seat. Nyssia popped back up from the table. "Oh! I know! Let's go back into the past and meet up with ourselves and have a tea party!"

"That sounds like a terrible idea. We don't know if meeting our past selves would cause a paradox and unscramble the space time continuum." Jane said. "Actually I think that's a whole load of bullshit." Ellipsis said. "And besides if I met myself from the past I think that would be totally rad, would defiantly tell myself not to go to that party in 1790." Nyssia started to get agitated as she picked up the silverware and started to bang it against the glasses. The waitress came over with some paper and some crayons. "Here sweetie, why don't you draw something nice?" She laid down a piece of paper with a nice picture of some kids playing in a park. Then she handed Nyssia a box of crayons, a red one, a blue one, a yellow one and a green one. Nyssia quickly grabbed the crayons and the paper and started to doodle. In a matter of moments she quickly drew an army of stick figures marching through the park accompanied by tanks and bombers. She smiled intensely as she continued to draw. The group continued to discuss where they should go. Utmost to them another group entered the diner and took the both across from them. There were four of them and they sat down quietly. They were dressed in long trench coats. Some of them wore gloves. They didn't say a word. One of them pulled out a piece of cloth with a red stain on it. The other pulled out what looked like a small compass and handed to the man who had the piece of cloth. They placed the compass on top of the piece of cloth and the needle started to spin like crazy. All watched with anticipation. The needle stopped suddenly and pointed towards Ellipsis who at this time was quietly pouring vodka in her drink from a flask.

"For the last time Nyssia! We are not going into the past to steal the King of England's underpants." Samantha said in frustrations as she sunk into her seat and rubbed her forehead with her hand. It was at this point that one of the men got up and walked over to the table where the group was. He stood in front of them without saying anything. They suddenly stopped their chatter and took notice of the stranger who was standing in front of them. It was his silence that put everyone on edge. "Um can I help you?" Asked Ellipsis who stared at him while reaching into her bag and pulling out a cigarette. "You can die you unholy spawn." He said as he whipped out a wooden stake and rammed it into Ellipsis's chest. Ellipsis let out a scream as the stake went into her chest and punctured her heart. Everyone at the table jumped in shock at the sight. Ellipsis moaned a bit. The stake went through her chest, punctured her heart, went through the heart and pinned her to the seat. She twitched a bit as she looked down at the stake. "Ow! Asshole! I dropped my cigarette." She said as she grabbed the stake. With a good twist and a long scream, she yanked the stake from her. The man backed up in fright. "What the hell!?" Io cried out. Everyone else was in a state of shock and awe at the scene. Io took after the man as she climbed over the table, knocking the drinks everywhere. She tackled the man and started to punch him in his face. The man's friends quickly got up to assist him as he started to spit blood. As they approached Io one of them took out a taser and shocked Io. She quickly fell over and started to twitch a bit. Ellipsis jumped out of her seat and wrapped her arm around the throat of one of the men and pulled him away from Io. The next one to scramble to their feet was Nyssia. Clutching the crayons she had been using to draw she lunged at the man on the ground, landing on top of him. She raised a fistful of crayons and jammed them into the man's eye. The man let out a horrific scream as the crayons were stabbed into his left eye. He tried to roll over but Nyssia was on top of him. More blood started to drip onto the floor.

The other guy got up and went over to Nyssia and kicked her in the face. Nyssia rolled off the guy and fell to the ground. The guy then got up and ran back. Ellipsis, who was holding the guy, suddenly tossed him on top of a table and proceeded to slam his head on the table until he was knocked out. One of the men ran over to Ellipsis and held up a large crucifix in front of her and proceeded to mumble some words. Samantha quickly got up and ran over to the man who was holding the large cross. Grabbing a glass she smashed him in the face with it. Glass scattered everywhere on the ground. Samantha paused for a moment and look at the gross then looked up at Ellipsis who seemed just as confused as she was. The guy fell over to the ground and was unconscious. The last guy remained suddenly backed up and ran out of the diner. At this point the diner was cleared out. The few people who were inside all got up and ran out at the sight of the wooden stake going into Ellipsis. It was at this moment that the group looked at each other and decided to run out of the diner. First one out with Nyssia who ran straight to the bus. Next was Ellipsis, followed by Io. Samantha was next and last was Jane who before she ran out of the diner, placed money on the table including a tip and then ran inside the bus.

The bus took off but it wasn't long before Samantha spotted a group of black cars gaining on them. Among the cars a person leaned out of the passenger side and held out a submachine gun and proceeded to fire. "Oh crap not this again!" Samantha said as she got up from her seat and moved her way to the front of the bus. Ellipsis sat in the middle along with Io and Jane who examined the spot where the stake went through. To their surprised the wound itself was completely healed. Where the wound should have been on her chest was the start of her tattoos that spiraled all across her body. "How?" Jane said in astonishment. "It's really hard to kill me. What you think if an enormous amount of time energy accompanied with a huge amount of radiation didn't kill me a piece of wood through the heart would?"

"Well….um…vampires die when they get stabbed in heart, don't they?" Jane said in confusion. "You need to lay off the fiction. Most things will die if you stab it in the heart Doc. Even I know that." Io said boastfully. "Um. Okay but why didn't she die if she's a vampire?" Jane said as she look at Io. "Like I said Jane. It's a bit hard to kill me." Ellipsis said as she got up. "Who were those guys?" Jane asked. Ellipsis shrugged. The bus jumped a bit. Dust sprayed the windows. Samantha was up in the front of the bus along with Nyssia was decided to take the 'fun route' and go off-roading with the bus. The cars still followed them. "Everyone! I'm turning the time circuits on!" Samantha called out as she placed an oxygen mask on her face. Io and Jane scrambled to the front to get their masks on while Ellipsis just remained in her seat. Nyssia just inhaled a huge gulp of air and held her breath. Samantha took a red metal rod with a hop on one end and placed it inside a glass cylinder that had a metal top and bottom. Inside the container was a blue crystal that was hooked up with wires. On top of the crystal and beneath it were metal triangles with inscriptions on the edges. The cylinder then light up with lights all around the rim. With a twist of the wrist the two metal triangles started to spin. Their speed began to get faster and faster. The crystal glow with a bright hue. The light grew brighter and brighter. Objects all around inside of the bus started to float in midair. All around outside of the bus a blue light started to cover the outside of the bus. "Here we go again." Ellipsis said to herself as the bus vanished followed by a large explosion of blue energy.

The cars following the bus slowed down to a halt. In front of them was a crater where the bus had vanished. One man stepped out of the car. Looked around and pulled out a cellphone. "Yeah. This is Agent Hass. Get me Captain Aul…..Yes sir…They just left. Put out a search for them. They should come around again sooner or later." And with that the man hung up his cellphone, got back in his car and drove off.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Thanks to a bit of preplanning, Samantha had several oxygen masks for everyone on the bus, including Ellipsis, whom never needed one on the account she doesn't need to breath. But nevertheless she had one just in case. Nyssia on the other hand didn't need one either. But it wasn't from a lack of blood flow or a lack of necessity to breathe oxygen. She simply refused on the basis of 'It's more fun to try and hold your breath before you die.' This boggled Samantha but simply allowed the crazed bus driver to have her way. After all, traveling through space and time in zero gravity can't possible last more than a minute before they reach their destination. Right?

The new enhancements that Samantha had added to the device she made earlier in their encounter, allowed for a smoother passage through space and time. The landing on the other hand was just as rough as ever. Not knowing where you're going to end up or what you're going to run into is extremely dangerous. Exhibit A; Busbus popping out of nowhere and running into a solid brick wall. Busbus came to a sudden stop as it collided with the wall, tossing everyone on board all around. Samantha fell back and landed in front of Nyssia who ran into the steering wheel. Ellipsis was way in the back and wasn't tossed at all but more like ran into the seat in front of her and toppled over it. Io did the same except she landed back first on the ground, while Jane fell over the seat as well but only half way and hung over the seat face down.

The first one to wake up was Nyssia. It didn't occur to her in the beginning of her adventures with Busbus that airbags were a thing. It also didn't occur to her that seatbelts were a thing as well. She woke with a stir. Then a grog. Then a belch. It was dark outside. She leaned her head over and observed the casualties. Everyone else was asleep or dead. This didn't bother her one bit. The bus had stopped for some reason and that intrigue her curiosity even more than the safety of others. She flipped her lights on and only saw the wall in front of her. Outside the window she could see barely anything. A street, perhaps. _Time to investigate_ she thought to herself. She tip-toed her way through the bus, trying not to wake anyone up. A few flares, some sticks of dynamite and a pistol with a flashlight was all she needed.

Exiting the bus a strange odor hit her nose. It was a harsh smell. One that would normally burn the inside of normal people's noses but instead tickled hers. There wasn't much to look at really. The bus had crashed into a solid brick wall. Some bricks were scattered nearby. She stared at the bricks. A smile came to her face. She picked one up and looked around. No windows to break or cars to hit. Not even a sign. She instead threw the brick in the air and watched it fall. It crackled as it hit the ground. The sound echoed through the street. The cool air hit her face. There was nothing in this world. Looking back at the wall she noticed that the wall was attached to a building. Shinning the light all around her she noticed that she was surrounded by buildings. Yet there was nothing here. Why it took her so long to realize this, no one, not even Nyssia, will ever know. Suddenly, from the darkness, a brick comes. It landed right next to Nyssia. Nyssia jumped a little in fright. This was something she didn't expect but now here she was all alone in the darkness and something is out there. She shinned her light in the direction where the brick came from. Nothing. This chilled her blood. She ran back to the bus and slammed the doors shut in a panic state.

This sudden, violent action woke some of the others up from their slumber. Io poked her head up along with Samantha. Nyssia was seen turning the keys of the bus. The engine didn't make a sound. Not even the lights turned on. Nyssia's hands became nervous. Fear crept up her spine. She let out a shriek when Samantha popped right up beside her. This holler woken the rest of the party up.

Samantha just stared at Nyssia fumble with the keys. "Are you okay?" She asked, concern as ever. This was the first time she had seen Nyssia scared of really anything. She usually had a smile or a grin on her face in most situations. But this was different. This was fear. "They're out there!" She yelled. The leys slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground. "Who?" Asked Io.

"The Marmalights! They're here!" She said as she scrambled to get the keys. Jane looked at Nyssia with a confused look on her face. "What is a Marmalight anyway?" Jane asked. She's heard the word before. Frankly the only person who ever said it was Nyssia. "They are out there! They things. Things that you only see in the dark. Things that creep up your spine when you are alone. You think you're alone but you're not. They are there!" Nyssia was consumed by fear at this point. She curled herself up into a ball on the ground. She stared at the doors of the bus. "They will come for you when you least expect it. They are already here. They're watching us. They see us. But we cannot see them. They are the things that nightmares are made of." She fell silent at this point. She remained still. Staring off into the distance. Io looked outside the window. "Can't see a damn thing."

Samantha grabbed one of the flares that Nyssia had dropped and walked outside. Lighting the area around her she saw the wreckage of the bus and the wall. She saw the bricks scattered around and the one lone brick in the middle of the street. She placed down the flare and lit a few more, lighting the entire area up. Ellipsis and Io walked out of the bus, while Jane stayed behind. As soon as they stepped out into the darkness, the foul odor hit them like a bucket of solid lead. They staggered out, holding their noses. It was bad. Ellipsis knew right away what the smell was and this made her skin crawl. Samantha had already taken the initiative and wrapped her bandanna around her face, covering her nose. The area was lit. They were on a street and the bus had crashed into a building. The streets were damped and the air was muggy. No one said anything but they all felt that they were being watched. Jane soon stepped out of the bus by herself. "Hey Doc, what's wrong with Red?" Io asked.

"She appears to be experiencing some sort of induced panic attack. She keeps talking about the Marmalights and how they are out there." Jane said as she sighed and place her hands in her jacket pocket. "Maybe she's not far off." Whispered Ellipsis as she picked up one of the flares. "This place seems a bit too dark." And with that Ellipsis quickly threw the flare into the blackness. A horrible shriek was heard as shadowy figures were revealed by the red glow of the flare. Their long skinny figures swatted at the flare as they backed away. Their faces covered in shadow with white eyes could be seen and on top of their heads were horns. They immediately scattered in multiple direction.

"Fucking Christwagons!" Io shouted as the sounds of the creatures faded off in the distance. "Back in the bus, now." Ellipsis said as she backed up slowly. Meanwhile Io took off running back to the bus accompanied by Jane. Samantha picked up one of the flares and backed up slowly as well. The scattering sounds of their visitors could be heard off in the distance. As they both got back to the bus it was suspiciously quiet.

Nyssia didn't say anything instead remained on the floor in a comatose state. Io ran to the back and checked every window up to the front to make sure there were no more of them running around. Samantha ran back to her seat and whipped out her journal and began writing. Ellipsis hopped in the driver's seat and tried to get the bus to turn on, it did not work. Jane on the other hand was in a panic state that she was trying frantically to find ammunition for one of the handguns that Nyssia had lying around. The atmosphere was a bit tense. When the flares had died down and gone out the sound of scattering was all around them. Then what sounded like nails on a chalkboard pierced their ears. And then silence. It was a dead silence. One that shivers up everyone's spine. Fear gripped them. It was as though the entire Universe itself had shut off the light and they were left alone in the darkness. That would have been the case completely though if all of a sudden they didn't hear a loud roar coming from the sky. It came in from above them. Then a bright white hot light shinned above them and all around them they could see that the bus was surrounded by the little creatures. Some immediately ran away from the bright light. Others who did not, turn to ash and puffs of smoke. The heat from the light warmed the bus. Then the light focused elsewhere. Jane fumbled with loading the pistol as a few bullets slipped through her fingers. Io looked out the window with curiosity. Samantha stopped writing and watched the light move in front of the bus. Ellipsis remained in the driver's seat, watching with anticipation. If her heart could beat it would be beating as fast as Nyssia's who was still lying on the ground. It was moments later that a few strings of rope descended from above. And four figures came down. They each formed around one another. Shinning lights off in the distance. Scanning the area. The seemed to be carrying rifles with them and on their rifles were little flashlights that produced the same white hot light as from above. More scattering could be heard as some of the creatures that were caught in the light leaped out of the way to avoid it.

Loud bangs emerged from them as they started firing off in the distance. Sounds of hissing and screeching could be heard off in the distance. One of the men approached the bus and shinned a light inside. His face was covered by a mask and he was clearly heavily suited for combat. Io backed up from the window in bewilderment. Jane finally fumbled with the pistol again only to drop it on the ground. Luckily the gun did not go off. Nyssia finally got up to see outside only to hide away again as soon as the light hit her face. Samantha backed up a bit and looked at the man with curiosity. Ellipsis remained where she was sitting, only to put on her sunglasses when the light hit her face. She seemed a bit annoyed with the light. The man outside shouted something to his other companions and he pointed inside the bus. After a few of them did a quick searched of the area around them they walked towards the bus. All were wearing the same outfit as the first man had. One of the men tried to open the door to the bus but it was stuck. Little did he know that Nyssia had a rope that held the door shut when she went to sleep and, in this particular situation, it prevented the strange man outside from opening the door. He stepped away from the doors and waved his hand in the sky.

"Ya think he's lost?" Io commented as she squint her eyes. No one else made a sound. Suddenly the bus rumbled and rocked. "Busbus!" Nyssia called out. Samantha turned to Nyssia only to try to hush her up. Ellipsis look at the both of them. "I think that's a bit too late for that." Suddenly the bus had begun to lift off the ground. Io caught herself in the nick of time while Jane feel into her seat with only a handful of bullets. Samantha staggered for a bit before finally sitting down in her seat and gripping the edge of the seat in front of her. Nyssia spring to her feet and rushed over to the window to watch in amazement as the bus mysteriously started to fly. Ellipsis just continued to sit there in the driver's seat. She took out a cigarette, lit it up and watched what was going on in front of her through the windshield. "Yup." She said as she puff out smoke. "Here we go again." And with that the bus sailed off into the night. Flying over the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As they flew above the city they saw what was left of it. It was a ruined city. All dark and no lights. Most of the buildings were destroyed. Some stood but barley. The bright lights shinned on and off again as they passed their way out of the city. Another bright light shinned on them from underneath. From above it looked like an encampment. There were several large tents outside of a large metal building. The entire area was surrounded by a large concrete wall with more and more bright lights shining in all directions. Around the edges of the wall you could see more of the little dark creatures as some tried to scale the wall but were utterly destroyed by the white hot lights. As they flew over the wall they received a lot of attention. People started to run out of their tents and the big building. As they got closer to the ground they noticed that their greeters were not in the best of moods. They seemed very hesitant as the bus landed. Some were armed with rifles and sharpen sticks.

Samantha stared at the people and turned around to face the others. Without saying a word they already knew what the others were thinking. Except for Nyssia. No one in their right mind could ever figure out what she was thinking, not even herself. She just stared blankly at the people through the window. And in an instant she got her smile again. In a flash she grabbed her bus cap and ran for the doors. As soon as she opened the doors they could hear the crowd loud and clear. Nyssia stepped forward before anyone could react. "People of Earth! I bring you great tidings!" Her speech was cut short as Io came from behind and grabbed her and tossed her back inside the bus. With a quick apology, Io turned back inside and slammed the bus doors shut. This was something none of them had planned on happening but weren't entirely surprised. The crowd didn't seemed pleased at all in fact some of them looked even more mad and confused than before. It was still night time and the lights had started to move towards the bus. Some of the soldiers had made their way through the crowd only to be blocked by a sea of confused people. When they finally got their way to the bus they started to push some of the people back away from the bus.

An official looking man stepped out of the crowd. He was wearing a military uniform with some stripes and fancy medals on it. He walked up to the bus and with a cane he tapped on the door. "Pardon me. If you would be so kindly to step out of the craft at once and form a single file line, we will not have any trouble. Does that sound like a reasonable course of action or do you have any issues with the said proposal?" There was a bit of silence from the bus. They really didn't know what to make of it.

"He sounds kind of pompous." Io commented. "He sounds like my father." Jane added. "I think he's an asshole." Ellipsis said. "I think I want to shoot him." Nyssia said as she pulled out her pistol. Immediately Io grabbed the gun from her. "No! Shooting is out of the question. Besides. We're out numbered."

"Is that really what's wrong with this picture? We are not going to shoot someone because we're out numbered? How about it's not the right thing to do?" Jane said as she placed her hand on her head. "I think we have to accept his proposal. No matter what. We don't have an advantage here. This situation is unfavorable." Samantha said as she stood up and looked at the angry crowd now being blocked off my solider and wooden structures. The man was still standing outside of the bus waiting for a response. Samantha walked over to the window and opened it slightly. "The terms and conditions seem reasonable. Do you promise us, that we will not be afflicted or injured in anyway shape or form?"

The man seemed a bit stunned at the response or maybe that it came from the window instead of the door. But he smiled politely and nod his head. And with that the doors to the bus opened up and they started to walk out. Samantha came out first with her hands clearly in the air, followed by Jane who did the same. Io came out but didn't bother with her hands in the air very much. At one point she thought she heard some rude comment from the crowd and casually displayed her middle finger. After Io came Nyssia who decided to jump the stairs of the bus and land in the mud. With a quick dust off she joined the others. Ellipsis was the last one to get off the bus. She was still wearing her sunglasses and with a grunt she tossed her cigarette on the ground and put it out with the tip of her boot and sluggishly walked over to the others who were not being padded down. The things that are left in their pockets were minor things. Some paper clips. A hairband. Unfortunately for the rest of the group when the guard reached Io he found a pair of brass knuckles in her pocket. To make the situation even more uneasy for their hosts, inside Nyssia's pockets they stumbled upon a few knives, a grenade. A box of matches. Some bottle caps. And a small handgun with ammo. These items raised a few red flags and they were escorted off to the large building in handcuffs. They didn't bother checking Ellipsis. They already had enough surprises for one day.

The crowd was left in astonishment as the new visitors were taken away in handcuffs to the large building. The bus was left guarded by a few men. It didn't matter because the attention of the crowd was turned away.

Inside the large building was several rooms. Some with prison cells housing creatures of a nightmarish nature while others seemed nice and well kept. In the front of the building the room looked more like a hanger. There were steel beams that shot up and over while the ground was also metal and damp. The group was lead to the center of the hanger and were told to stand side by side. A doctor and a few armed men entered from the door at the end.

"Hello. My name is Doctor Steiner and I will be performing a physical on all of you, just to make sure you are all clean and healthy individuals." Dr. Steiner said as he pulled out a medical clipboard and a pen. Everyone seemed a bit nervous about this sudden news, especially Ellipsis who hasn't had a heart beat in the past five thousand years. Nyssia however seemed eager and jolly. She was so energetic she leaped in the air and swung her arms, which were handcuffed behind her back, under her legs. This alerted everyone in the room but the tension eased up a bit when she spoke. "Oh! Oh! Me! Me! I want to go first!" She said as she waved her handcuffed hands in the air while jumping up and down.

Doctor Steiner paused for a moment and reflected. This obviously was something he did not expect but couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the enthusiasm. "Ah," he said. "It is always a pleasure so see someone so excited about getting their physical. Tell me, is this your first one?" Nyssia paused and gave the doctor the thousand yard stare and then she blurted out, "Nope!" Everyone else though seemed a bit apprehensive. Doctor Steiner did a quick examination on Nyssia. She stuck her tongue out, he checked her pulse and quickly moved on. "Well you seem healthy. Maybe cut down on the sugar and you'll be better." "Well fuck that in pig's apple!" Nyssia said with a smile. Doctor Steiner did the same tests on the others and told them they were perfectly healthy and well fit. When he got to Ellipsis he made some quick notes and started his examination. He didn't seem to react in any differently than the others. He made a few more notes and walked away without saying anything. The others stared at Ellipsis, who was doing nothing more than glaring at the doctor as he walked over to the guards.

The back door slammed shut. The loud bang of the door smashing into the ground made everyone jump. The lights flickered off and changed to a bright red. More guards appeared with rifles armed at the group, more so on Ellipsis than the others. "Step away from the Umbralite!" shouted one of the guards.

"Umbra whosafa?" Nyssia said to herself. Suddenly a canister was arched overhead and in the middle of the group spraying gas everything. Samantha and Jane cried out in pain as the gas reached their faces. Io crouched down and started to cough. Nyssia dodged out of the way but was later caught in the gas cloud as she tried to run over and play with the canister. Ellipsis froze. The gas wasn't affecting her in anyway but everyone else around her was coughing and tearing up. She immediately found the canister and threw it back at the guards. This did nothing as they were prepared. In a fast motion, Ellipsis was tackled from behind and from the side. She was then tied up like a pig and dragged out of the room. The others were left behind as other guards came from another door and took them away as well.

By the time their eyes cleared up and they stopped coughing, they all found themselves sitting in a small room alone. There was a large mirror in front of them. They were sitting on a chair in front of a table. Their arms and feet were tied to the chair. A single light hung above the table. It wasn't much for lighting but it did a wonderful job lighting up the room. They spent some time alone in their individual rooms before a man in a white lab coat entered.

In the first room sat Samantha. As her vision slowly returned to her and upon realizing her situation she panicked. Twisting her wrists back and forth trying to break out. It wasn't long before she tried to hop with the chair but the chair didn't budge. The man then entered and sat down. Her heart was racing now as she slumped in her chair. Her glasses were removed and though her eyes no longer burned it was still a blurry scene. The man pulled out a clipboard and a pen. "Name?" was all he said. He said it in a very emotionless way without even looking at her. "Samantha Lorn."

"Age?"

"26."

"Height?"

"Uhh…not sure." The man grunt at her response.

"Have long have you been in contact with the Umbralite?" Samantha paused for a moment and squinted her eyebrows at the man. "The what?"

The man gave another grunt along with a sigh. He stopped his writing and finally looked up at Samantha. He looked very tired as if he hadn't had any sleep in some time. He looked at her with silence.

"The Umbralite. The undead person you were with. The one with the blue hair."

"Ellipsis?"

"Names are meaningless when it comes to the undead. They are trash only to be thrown out. Now have you been bitten or come in contact with their bodily fluids?"

"No." Her tone quickly turned cold and emotionless as his.

The man looked down again and stared to write some more.

"Now where are you from?"

"The nineteen hundreds." She said with a grin. The man immediately paused. With a tilt of his head he put his pen down, gathered his things, got up and left the room.

In the second room sat Jane who at this point stood perfectly still. Fear crept up her spine as the door opened up and a strange man in a lab coat walked in. He asked her a few basic question about her name, age, height but when it came to 'where are you from?' question her response was, "Well I don't know. We travelled through time as we were driving away from a bunch of angry brutes from a diner." It was at this point the man simple did not only stopped writing but gave a very heavy sigh. This was clearly not his day. He got up and left in one fast pace motion as if he had business elsewhere.

In the third room Io had already ripped one of the straps loose and got her hand through and was chewing at the other. The door opened up and gazed at her. She took one look at the man and said, "Fuck off you bald headed prick." He didn't bother with her and just shut the door and went on to the last door from which he could hear someone humming a tune.

Inside he saw a red headed girl. She was wearing a blue bus cap and was swinging back and forth humming a tune. "Hi there doc!" she said cheerfully. The man paused for a moment and decided to sit down and pull out his clip board and pen.

"Name?" he said.

"Which one?"

The man paused. He put his pen down and looked up at her. She had a creepy smile on her face that gave the man shivers down his spine though he didn't show it. "First name."

"Nyssia Tannin"

"That's two names."

"Yeah well that's your problem."

The man grunted once again and proceed to write. Nyssia started to hum her tune again and started to rock back and forth in her chair.

"Would you please stop that? I'm trying to write."

"Nope!" she said as she continued to hum her tune. The man stopped his writing and glared at Nyssia. He stared at her for some time until she noticed him. She glared back at him, leaned in and spat in his face. "Twenty points! Woohoo!" The man clutched his fists. He stood up and swatted his clipboard across the desk. He let out a loud scream that attracted the attention of the guards from the hallway who rushed in only to be pushed aside by the man in the white lab coat. This was clearly not his day. Nyssia went back to humming her tune and rocking back and forth in the chair.

It was some time before the first door opened again. This time a man in a suit with a nice red tie walked in and sat down. In his hands he had a folder. "Now Miss Lorn as you can see we have your craft in our custody." He said as he flipped through the folder reveling pictures of the bus. "We would just like to know where you come from." Samantha just glared at him, rolled her eyes and said, "I come from the year 1890. I escape in a time machine that I built. While ahead in the future I met Ellipsis, Io, Jane and Nyssia and we decided through a series of events to stick together and do a bit of traveling."

"Traveling…." The man said as he wrote on a piece of paper.

"Look I'm all for bureaucratic procedures and all but where is my friend?"

"Your friend is safe I can assure you that. She is just being contained for the moment."

"Contained?"

"Yes, in the event of an Umbralite entering into our encampment we must take all precautions to prevent the spread of infection." Samantha looked down and shifted her eyes back and forth. Only imagine the somewhere Ellipsis is hanging upside down in a dungeon.

"I'm going to be as forward with you as possible. My colleagues believe I am wasting my time with you. But the truth is we are in a rut of a situation. And you just happen to walk into. You can understand our situation."

Samantha didn't say anything.

"We have received a report that told us the portal to the Umbral Sphere is opening soon. The Shadow's Hand is on the verge of releasing the monsters inside and bringing back their queen. The age of Light is dwindling Samantha. We need to send a small group to retrieve an item for us."

"An item?"

"Yes. We are low on resources as it is. We need someone. We need you and your friends. To go retrieve the item and bring it back to us here."

"What is this item?"

"It is called the Umbral Eye. With it anyone born of light can see into shadow. It will make finding the gateway to the Umbral Sphere easier to find."

"Now tell me, why should we assist you? You kidnapped our friend and you're holding us prisoner?"

"Well it's either you help us or we kill your friend and detonate the explosives under your chair."

Samantha's eye grew wide with fright. She quickly looked down at the chair she was sitting in. Then back up at the man. "As you see. You have no choice in the matter" he gathered his things. "I will leave the folder with the information you will need in your care as you seem to be the most reasonable out of the rest of your friends." And with that he left. Samantha remained in the chair, frighten to move. This was clearly a dilemma. The bus was in their hands. Ellipsis is somewhere being tortured. And who knows what they've done with the rest of her friends.

Meanwhile, in a few doors down from Samantha, Nyssia was rocking back and forth and humming her little tune. With every rock the chair swayed back and forth even more. Suddenly her tune cut short as she fell on her back. There was a cracking sound. Nyssia rolled over to discover she was free from the chair. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small flashing light. She turned the chair over and found a small explosive under it. Her eye lit up with joy as she moved closer to the bomb. In a few short seconds she removed the small bomb from the chair. It wasn't the most sophisticated type of bomb. It was a simple C4 explosive with some wires. Nyssia had that grin on her face again. She glared at the window and at the door. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

In a few short moments, with her mind racing, she grabbed the broken chair and threw it at the window. The window shattered into a thousand tiny shards. They glitter in the light as they fell to the ground. Nyssia hopped through the broken mirror only to discover that the room on the other side was empty. There was only a desk, a chair and a half eaten sandwich. Nyssia walked over and started to eat the sandwich while rummaging through the desk. Nothing of interest was found. She was getting bored pretty fast. Outside the door was a hallway with guards walking back and forth. For some reason they didn't hear the window shatter. Nyssia walked out of the door and into the hallway. There was a row of doors and her interest peeked. She decided to open the first door only to find Io chewing at the straps that tied her down. Io suddenly stopped in amazement.

"How…did you get out?" Io said with astonishment. Nyssia didn't say anything but held up a large glass shard and walked over to Io.

Io froze in fear. The shard shinned in the light. Io could see her face in it. Nyssia walked over to Io, still wearing that grin. With a few slashes Io was free from the chair. Io was stunned. "You little bitch! You scared the crap out of me!" Io said in angry as Nyssia smiled back at her with a childish smile. A small giggle came from her as Io pushed her out of the way and walked out of the door. Nyssia then eyed Io's chair and decided to take a look and found another small explosive. "Now you have a friend. Let's see if we can find you more friends to play with." She said as she pocketed the C4 charge.

Skipping down the hallway a guard laid knocked out on the ground. Nyssia smiled once more and took the guards sidearm along with a few magazines of ammunition. In return she planted one of the C4 charges underneath the guard's body armor. With a skip in her step and a jaunty tune seeping through her lips she danced to the next room where Io was releasing Jane from her chair. She seemed a bit relieved and unaware of the current situation regarding the explosive under her chair. After leaving they finally met up with Samantha in the last room who made a poor attempted at chewing through the straps that held her down.

"No, no, no. Come on Fido. You got to grip it with your teeth and pull with one good yank. Not struggle with it like some kind of mutt." Io said as she watch Samantha struggle with the strap. "I could use a little help here." she said as she spat out the leather strap. Io gave a slight chuckle as she walked over and undid the straps.

"Alright here is the situation we are in." Samantha said as she opened the folder. "We have to find a small item, a stone, a crystal or something and bring it back to these people."

"A fetch quest? What is this some kind of lame videogame?" Io said with a grunt.

"Look they have Ellipsis held somewhere in this facility. If we do this they say they will release her unharmed."

"I don't know. Blu can sure take a few hits."

"That's certainly rude of you don't you think?" Jane spoke up.

"I'm not being rude. Just, why can't we just go and get her. I mean if she's here then we can certainly find her and rescue her. It's not like we haven't done anything like this before."

"Yes but we don't have an armory or a bus with a few explosives." Samantha said.

"Two creates actually." Nyssia commented as she took out the handgun she had stolen and started doing tricks with it.

"We're not getting out of this easily huh." Io said with a heavy sigh.

"It appears we have no other alternative then certain death." Jane said as she started to skim through the folder. The information in the folder went into great detail about the Umbral Eye.

The Umbral Eye is a small pink stone created by several sorcerers who wished to see inside the Umbral Sphere. Upon its creation it took several long days of meditation along with blood from a creature born in the Umbral Sphere. With it the wearing of the Eye could see into the darkness of the Umbral Sphere and see what is inside. Better yet, the Umbral Eye could be used to combat against creatures from the Umbral Sphere that have found their way into our plain of existence.

"Great….More rocks for us to collect." Io said in a sarcastic tone.

In that moment it suddenly occur to the majority of them at that very table where their own 'rock' was. Nyssia on the other hand was still doing tricks with her new 'toy' and loving every moment of it.

"Fuck…." Io whispered under her breath.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The silence that surrounded their white little room was soon broken with the sound of an alarm. Immediately everyone turned to Nyssia who was still sitting on the table spinning the pistol in her fingers. "Nyssia…..Where did you get that gun?" Samantha said as he heart sank. She sensed that she already knew but was hoping for a better alternative than what the usual answer is.

Nyssia stopped spinning the pistol and paused for a moment. Her eye suddenly rolled up and twitched. "Uhh….I found it."

"Where did you find it?"

"In the hallway."

"Where in the hallway?"

"On the floor."

"Damn it Red! Where did you get that gun!?" Io snapped.

"From the sleeping man you knocked out of course." Nyssia said with a smile. The remaining group then turned to Io who was a bit appalled at the accusation but then subsided on remember the guard she decided to punch in the face after leaving the room and being question by some random kook wearing a strange mask. It was not her day and it was most defiantly not his day either. By which point this was the exact moment the same random kook wearing the strange mask busted through the door and was instantly met by a bullet in the leg. Blood squirted on the floor as the random kook grabbed his leg and fell to the ground in agony. Everyone stared at Nyssia who was facing the rest of the group with her arm extended behind her holding the pistol. "Reflex…" is all that Nyssia said as she was suddenly tackled by the group and had the pistol removed from her clutches. Before they could tie her up and stuff her somewhere, a few more guards ran in from the same door and were not met with bullets in their legs. It was certainly a fine day for these gentlemen. One examined his fallen comrade while the other held a rifle at the others with orders of standing up against the wall and 'no funny business'.

While the group was facing the wall, a familiar gentlemen in a suit and a fancy tie walked in. "I see you have talked it over with your friends and are pleased to know that you have graciously accepted our offer." The gentlemen said in the fancy tie. They didn't say a word and were led by an arm escort towards the end of the hanger where a familiar vehicle was discovered. Nyssia's one and only eye lit up with joy. "Busbus!" she shouted at the top her of lungs. The gentleman with the fancy suit and tie stood in front of Busbus and with a heavy sigh said, "I will allow each of you to take one item. Only one will enter the craft at a time and will leave with only one item. You will have five minutes inside. Once you leave consider everything else lost." Samantha's eyes grew wide, she instantly knew what she had to get.

The first one in was Nyssia. She hopped and hopped up into the bus. From outside the bus the group could see her running back and forth throughout the bus. Stuff getting tossed around and papers flying in the air. Finally emerging with a bazooka strapped to her back. She had her typical smile on her face as she once again hopped down from the bus. The sight of the weapon on her back make a lot of the other guards uncomfortable especially the gentleman in the fancy suit with the fancy tie. The next person allowed inside the bus was Io who ran in and ran out pretty fast. Attached to her hands were a pair of metal gauntlets. This eased up the tension on the guards as they were expecting something even more dangerous and devastating than a bazooka. Jane was next and with a quick run in and out she came out with a rather large book. This confused the guards even more as they look back at Nyssia who was now sitting on the concrete floor cuddling her bazooka. And finally it was Samantha's turn. She knew what she had to get and she also knew where she could find it. She raced into the battered bus. Heart racing. Eyes dodging back and forth around the control panel. She knew she had only five minutes to find it. And there it was. It was the glass cylinder. She took the whole thing without thinking, tearing the cords out from the control panel. Sparks emitted and a bit of smoke leak out from the vehicle. This certainly drew the attention of the guards as they now we ready for the worst. Unfortunately many of them have seen worse and were not at all impressed nor frighten when a young girl comes stumbling out of a broken down bus holding a glass cylinder with a shiny rock inside. It seemed a bit more comical really, and they would most certainly have a good laugh about it later. Until then, the only real threat in the area was the one eye cretin with a large bazooka whose been cuddling it and talking to it as if it were an old friend who just popped in out of the blue and decided to have a tea party.

The man had approached them. "I assume now you have all that you need for your task. Do not expect a rescue party. Just remember that if you want to see your friend again. Bring us the Umbral Eye." And with that the man was escorted out of the hanger by several large guards. They were led to another door which led right outside of the building, through several gates of steel and barbwire, passed several more guards wearing strange and funny masks and outside of the encampment in general. Opening the folder that Samantha had held on to revealed a map of the area and the possible location of where the Umbral Eye was.

Outside of the encampment dawn was breaking. But the sky was covered by clouds. The ground around them felt soggy and damp. The air was thin. Whispers could be heard floating on the wind. The trees around them were dead and mangled. As they marched through the dead forest they kept hearing voices. It gave them an eerie feeling, a sickly feeling. Silence had engulf them. Nothing seemed right. Above them in the trees were large spider webs that trickled in small glimpse of sunlight that had crept through the clouds. Shivers ran up and down Jane's spine as she held tight her large book. Samantha focused her attention mostly on the map and tried to ignore the spooky sensation that was around her. Nyssia held her bazooka tight. Io seemed unnerved by the surrounding, though her fist were clenched and ready to punch the first thing that were to pop out of nowhere. Though the scenery was unsettling they continued through the dead forest.

Hours after they were released into their new world they grew tired and decided to take a rest. They were hungry, tired and above us else a bit freaked out. "This place gives me the creeps." Jane said as she sat down. "Yeah no kidding." Io replied as she too sat down on a rock. "Wished we'd pack a lunch or something. Hey Blondie! You have any idea where we are?"

Samantha stood while staring at the map. She walked back and forth for a bit before stopping. "I think we are somewhere near the mountains."

"You think?" Io said as she got up. "I think we're lost! Look at this place! We're in the middle of nowhere! No signs. No streetlights. No possible way to determine if we are going the right direction!" Io became flustered that she picked up a rock and threw it deep into the forest. After panting for a bit she sat back down. Her eyes suddenly lit up with fright. She turned to her left and saw what looked like the same stone that she just threw. "What's going on here?" She said as she picked up the stone. She examined it closely, marking it with a scratch. And with another heave she threw the stone. Immediately she heard a clinking sounds right next to her. And there with the same scratch on it was the very stone she had thrown. "Blondie!" Io shouted

Samantha and Jane both looked up. They were apparently discussing their present location on the map or lack of. They both stared at Io as she hurried over to them holding a stone in her hand. "I just threw this stone and it came back." They both stared at her and blinked simultaneously in confusion. Io didn't say anything. She knew it would be futile to try to even explain things to these people. So with a strong arm she threw the stone once again. They all sat and watched.

Nothing happened.

"I think you may need some rest Io. You seemed a bit stressed." Jane suggested to her as she got up and dusted herself off. Just then from above something fell and pegged Samantha in the head. She let out a shout of pain and anguish. She looked at what hit her and suddenly she realized just what Io was saying. Jane turned and saw the same thing she did. Io had a grin on her face as she knew exactly what happened. And to her credit she was right. The stone had appeared again right in front of them but only this time it had descended from the sky and landed in an unfortunate location which just happened to be behind Samantha's head. It was Samantha's turn. She too threw the rock, only to have it return to her. Nyssia was far too preoccupied to notice the astonishing discovering. She was somewhere up a tree nearby with her bazooka, making explosion noises as she pretended to fire. Meanwhile back on the ground Samantha, Jane and Io were discussing intensely about their current situation.

"It must be a temporal flux in that area. You know. When the area around a certain space is flexing through space and time. It accidently creates a pocket in the space around it and it travels through a hole in our universe." Jane said frantically as she clearly was excited to experience this event. However, much to her excitement this only confused Samantha and even more so Io who just stared at her like she was trying to balance a talking flower on her head while speaking in tongues. They all stood in silence. Jane gave a sigh and said, "It teleports. We've been going in an infinite loop!"

"Makes sense." Nyssia commented as she was hanging upside down in the tree above them. "We just have to go around it then." Samantha said as she looked around. "Gather the stones!" Nyssia said as she fell to the ground with a flop.

Io stood stiff. Suddenly a whisper came into her ear. "Protect her." She turned around as if to see someone there but instead she saw no one. She turned back to the group who was helping Nyssia getting to her feet. Io turned back to where the whisper came from and in the distance she could see a blur of a creature. It was small and stood on four legs. Its yellow eyes shinned through the distance at her. It was a fox. A familiar looking fox. One that she knows she had seen somewhere before but couldn't remember and yet there it was, staring at her. It had a long bushy tail and in a flash it ran off and disappeared in the distance. "Guys…" Io said nervously.

"Io not now, we need to figure out how to get pass this." Samantha said as she was throwing stones, of course those words fell flat as Io started to walked in the direction the creature went. It wasn't long before she heard the rest shouting at her from behind but that didn't seem to matter. The rest caught up to her and suddenly they were faced with a very large and very frightening stone face. It was a wicked face. The stone around it was smooth. It had large sharp fangs and had its mouth was wide open. The stony eyes stared at the group and gave them shivers down their spine. Io stood in front and then turned around. "You think this is the place?"

"Looks cool!" Nyssia said with excitement as she skipped beside them.

"Maybe this is a bad idea." Jane said as she stood petrified at that face staring down at her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Inside the dark cave, chanting could be heard. Though there was a lack of lighting, the group walked carefully. The walls were a smooth stone while the floor had rough grooves carved into them. Moss had crept between the cracks in the walls and floors over time and have stretched themselves all over. Deeper into the cave torches were set up around the walls. Pictures could not be seen among the walls, depicting a brutal battle with a standoff between a white figure and a black figure. The white figure is shown slaying the dark figure in the end. The chanting became louder and louder the further they went. The cave was roughly fifteen feet high and seven and a half feet long. Io was in the front, ready to punch the first thing that came out of the shadows. Samantha was next, gripping her crystal in fear. Jane followed, full of anxiety. Behind them was Nyssia, who didn't let the poor décor or the lack of lighting bring her down, instead she was rather more interested in the pictures on the wall and followed the story with every step along the way.

Near the end, the cave suddenly opened up in a dome like shape revealing a bottom floor. Below them were a small group of strange individuals, who were chanting some incoherent language and wearing large robes with large hoods covering their faces. There were stairs on both ends that curved downward to the bottom floor and apparently have been carved from the wall of the cave. In the center of the bottom floor stood one cloaked figure. The one thing that drew everyone's attention was the demonic looking statue at the far end of the room. The men stood in a circle, facing the figure in the middle. A light pink light could be seen shinning from the demonic figure. It came from the left side of the statue's face. The light started to glow and pulsate. Then the chanting became clear. "Ancient blood and darken skies, the Shadow's Hand shall once more rise!"

"You think that's the eye thing those maniacs want?" Io whispered.

"Maybe….But how are we going to get it?" Samantha said as she pondered the possibilities.

"Where did Nyssia go?" Jane said with worry in her voice.

"Oh crap…" Io said as she saw Nyssia slowly crept down the stone stairs.

Nyssia ducked into the shadows. Edging herself along the wall. Making sure that every step she took was as quiet as possible. Her mind was racing but her heart stayed calm. The figures continued to chant and face the man in the center who had his head down facing the statue. Nyssia continued to move alongside the wall up to where the statue was. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. She looked to the statue and quickly back at the hooded figures. The others were forced to stand by up above and watched as Nyssia inched herself ever closer to the statue. The chanting continued as if nothing had happened.

Now the moment had come. She was standing right next to the statue. The statue stood nine feet tall and was about four feet wide due to the wingspan it carried on its back. Nyssia stood in the darkness behind the wings and every so carefully started to climb the statue. Using the large stone wings to shield her from the hooded figures she carefully secured herself on the statue. Grabbing a hold of the statue's neck she hung with one arm free. Sweat was pouring from her hand and making holding on rather difficult. Her heart started to race. Her breathing was becoming rapid. At one point she held her breath to try to remain still. Her fingers were starting to cramp. Hanging by with one arm she carefully slipped the other underneath the statue's wingspan and curved up towards the face. There was a strange sensation her fingers felt as they made their way towards the eye. It felt warm and soothing. This was the final moment for her.

"I think she's got it." Samantha whispered.

Her fingers finally reached the Umbral Eye and the sensations became overwhelming. The pink glow that the Umbral Eye was emitting suddenly vanished along with the eye itself. Nyssia fell off the statue and cried out in pain. The chanting ceased and all stared at Nyssia as she started to roll on the ground in pain and agony. She was cupping her eye patch and screaming in pain. Pink veins stretched across her face from her left eye. The hooded figure in the center pulled out a rusty dagger from his robe. "Now you see what I see. In the blackest of nights, the Umbral Eye shall relight." Nyssia ripped off her eye patch. And stood on her knees. Voices creep into her ear as she saw images of tiny little creatures crawling on the walls and the ceiling. The hooded figures were clouded in a black fog. But the dagger the man held glowed white. Nyssia gazed at all of this in horror as she was paralyzed with fear to move. "Now you see the nightmares that walk among you. You are not worthy to receive the Eye." The man said as he held up the dagger. Just then from the second floor a loud whoosh sound came about, following a very loud bang that shook the cave. An explosion of fire erupted from behind and the men on the far end of the circle were blown to bits and scattered across the floor. Smoke build up from the blast and the ground had started to crack. The concussion following after tossed the remaining hooded figures aside while Nyssia remained still. From her perspective a large white light had just appeared out of nowhere and many of the tiny creatures above ran in fright.

Out of the chaos and smoke came Io. Screaming at the top of her lungs and raising her gauntlet in the air she clobbered one of the hooded men who fell on the ground and ceased all movement. The man with the dagger got up along with a few others who were still conscience and armed with daggers. Samantha came about, holding the crystal in her hand, she unleashed a wave of energy that knocked one of the hooded figures off their feet, slamming their head against the statue. Blood splattered the statue as well as the floor. The man with the dagger rushed up to Samantha and slashed at her with his dagger. Samantha tried to dodge out of the way but the blade made contact and slashed her left shoulder down to her elbow. The blade was riddled with her blood and started to trickle on the floor. Jane followed behind, carrying her large book with her which she used to smash in the head of one of the hooded men who then proceed to bobble his head up and down until he sat down on the ground seeing stars. Samantha dropped the crystal and clutched her arm in pain. The blood started to seep into the cracks. Suddenly from where they stood, amongst the cracks in the floor, a light was started to show.

The man with the bloodied dagger stared at the light then back at Samantha who was holding her arm in pain with tears swelling up in her eyes. "Ancient blood. And blacken skies!" The man said as he took another slash at Samantha. "The Shadow's Hand shall once more rise!" With that the blade came from underneath and cut Samantha stomach. Samantha cried out in pain as she fell on her back. Blood was pouring from her stomach and onto the floor. The light had begun to grow brighter. Io stood in horror as she saw Samantha fall over. "Protect her." Were the words she heard but before she could move over and give the man with the dagger and new face lift the ground had begun to quake. The cracks opened and stretched across the room. The light from the cracks grew brighter and brighter. Io lost balance as the floor beneath her cracked and shifted. Bright blue light shinned through. Nyssia remained where she was, unflinching. From her perspective it wasn't a bright light that came out from the cracks, but a large aurora of shadow. Many of the tiny creatures above her that didn't leave fled and ran into the cracks.

Then, from beneath, another figure came up. From Nyssia's perspective it was another dark figure, but this one gave her the chills.

A hand reached out from the cracks. It was a dark green scaly hand. It dung its claws into the stone. It pulled itself up revealing a snout and a long scaly tail. It grinned, revealing its sharp teeth. It was a lizard man. It was wearing a long leather coat which was torn up. A shirt that had bloodstains on it. Pants that were dusty and worn out. He wasn't wearing shoes or boots but instead was barefoot. It had a cutlass inside its large belt on one side and a pistol holster on the other. The lizard man hoisted itself and rolled on the ground. He took a breath and instantly sat up with a curious look on his face. He tap his head a few times and suddenly it hit him. He swirled around back to the crack where he crawled out. "Oh no you little fucker. That's mine!" He pulled out his revolver from its holster. Six loud shots echoed through the buildings. Meanwhile the man with the dagger was puzzled. Samantha laid on the ground bleeding out. Her visions started to become distort. Io stood still. She was about to pounce on the hooded man with the dagger and rescue Samantha but the strange lizard man with the gun seemed to be a bit more distracting. Jane was stunned but that didn't stop her from slowly creeping up behind the hooded man with the dagger to try to help Samantha.

The lizard man stood up. In his right hand was a revolver and in his left was a hat. It was an old hat with a wide brim and has certainly seen better days. "No one touches my hat." He said as he dusted it off and place it on his head. "Who the fuck are you?" He said looking at the strange man with the dagger. "My name is Azer and you have ruined our ritual!" Azer said with anger in his voice. The lizard man chuckled to himself. "Oh dear! What a shame! I ruined your little ritual!" he said in a sarcastic tone while waving his arms in the air. "Goddamn hippies I swear."

It was at this time Jane had gotten to Samantha undetected. Samantha gave a slight cough. She was lying a pool of blood. Her arm was slash as well as her stomach up to her chest. Jane took off her coat and placed it over Samantha to attempt to stop the bleeding. "That voice…." Samantha mumbled to herself.

"You have not only trespassed into our world and ruined a sacred ritual but you also mock us to?" Azer shouted. A few more hooded men stood up, armed with daggers they approached the lizard man.

"Ah that's so cute. Look at all of you. You think you're a real threat." The lizard man said as he placed his hands in his pocket. "Tell ya what. I'll let you guys live if you show me the way o-…" His sentence was cut short as he glared behind the hooded man with the dagger. "Baby sister! Is that you?"

"Ridley…?" Samantha mumbled as she tried to sit up.

Azer immediately turned to see Jane trying to help Samantha. But before he could do anything he suddenly felt a blade tap his shoulder. "Did you do this?" Ridley said from behind. Azer was frozen with fear. In one quick motion he turned around to slash at Ridley. Ridley blocked with his cutlass. "I'll take that as a yes." He said calmly.

"Die blasphemer!" Azer shouted as he thrusted his blade at Ridley.

"Been there, done that." Ridley said as he countered with his cutlass and slashing at Azer. Azer screamed in pain. Blood squirted on the floor. The dagger he was holding dropped to the floor.

"Kill him!" He shouted at the other hooded figures.

The two behind Ridley charged at his. In a flash Ridley suddenly disappeared. The two men stopped and then took a step back. He was gone. Not a trace. Azer held his arm and twirled about. "Where did he go?"

From the shadows came a whisper into one of the hooded men's ear. "I love hide and seek"

Suddenly from behind Ridley appeared and with a single thrust, he shoved his blade into the hooded man in front of him. Blood gushed forward and littered the floor. A loud scream of agony and pain roared through as Ridley ripped the blade from the man and cut down the other one next to him. More screaming and hollering was made. Azer stood motionless. He quickly grabbed his blade from the ground and shoved Jane aside. In a fast motion he wrapped his uninjured arm around Samantha's throat and dragged her to her feet. "Stop right there! Or I'll kill her." Azer shouted. Samantha let out a scream as she was forced to stand. The pain in her stomach and arm was getting more and more severe. Ridley stopped. His face was doused with blood. "Throw the sword down."

Ridley tossed the sword on the ground. "Hands up." Azer said as he tighten his grip around Samantha's throat. Ridley had his hands up in the air. "You've made a wrong move asshole." Ridley said. He gave Azer a slight grin. With a quick twist of his wrist, Ridley's arm swung behind him and out again revealing a flintlock pistol. In the time for Azer to realize what had happened, a bullet carved its way through his skull. Azer's body stumbled backwards and collapse on the ground. Brain matter splattered the walls and the floor behind him. Samantha laid motionless on the ground. Her eyes closed. Jane hurried over to check on her. She wasn't breathing. Her pulse could not be found. Jane reeled back in horror at the scene.

Ridley casually pick up his cutlass, wipe it off and walked over to Samantha. Jane was on her knees, breathing fast with tears in her eyes. She look up at Ridley at froze. Never in her life had she seen someone quite like Ridley. Ridley reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial. It was filled with a red liquid. "Hold her head up." Ridley said to Jane. Jane didn't say anything. She was at a loss for words but still did as she was told. Ridley opened the vial and carefully pour the contents in Samantha's mouth and down her throat. There was a sizzling sound. Steam could be seen rising from Samantha's wounds. Her eyes suddenly opened wide. She screamed out in pain and rolled over. "She's alive!" Jane said. Samantha laid on her back and closed her eyes again. Io ran over and grabbed Ridley by the collar of his coat and held him up. "Alright lizard breathe! Who are you and what are you doing here?" Io shouted.

Ridley just stood there as this six foot tall woman held him in the air by the collar of his coat. "Well if you must know. My name is Ridley. And I'm that one's older brother." He said nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah!? What was it you put down her throat?"

"It was a revival remedy." Ridley said as he held up the empty vial.

"She's breathing!" Jane shouted.

Io looked back at Jane who seemed to be smiling and dripping with tears of joy and ecstasy. She then looked back at Ridley who stared at her and gave her a slight grin. It was a familiar grin, one that she had seen before. Suddenly it hit her. "Where's Nyssia!?" Io shouted as she dropped Ridley on his butt.

Nyssia was still standing/sitting the in same spot she has been this entire time. Her attention though had shifted quite a lot in the past five minutes. She stared out in horror at everything. Io ran up to her, leaping over large cracks in the ground. Io was shocked at what she saw. Nyssia stood there on her knees with both eyes wide open. The bright pink veins that stretched across her face had subsided. "Hey. Hey Red." Io said as she waved her hand in front of Nyssia's face. "That girl has seen shit no one should ever see."

Io jumped around in shock to see Ridley standing there next to her. "She took the eye huh." Ridley then stared at the demonic statue that was now missing an eye. Io looked at him with confusion. "This is bad." Ridley muttered.

"Bad, bad." Nyssia said.

Nyssia spring to her feet and grabbed both Io and Ridley and heaved them to the ground. "What the he-"Io immediately hush as a chill ran up her spine. It slowly crept up her spine and into the back of her head. Something was there. But she didn't see anything. Io looked at Ridley and expected him to look back but his attention was drawn elsewhere. "Bad, bad." Nyssia whispered to herself. "Stay still, don't speak." Ridley whispered as he pulled out his revolver and started to reload. A sudden scream broke the silence.

Jane was suddenly whooshed into the air upside down. "What the hell is going on!?" she shouted as she hung in the air. Ridley got up and drew his cutlass but something seemed to come at him because he instantly ducked and was soon smacked by something much larger then him as he was tossed across the room and straight into a wall.

"Bad, bad." Nyssia said again as she stared up into the ceiling. With another scream Jane was yanked out of the air and pulled straight down to one of the large cracks in the floor. She caught herself on the edge. Io got up and ran to her but was knocked by something. It felt heavy and slimy. Suddenly something grasps itself around her throat and started to lift her. Then black ooze splattered her face as a blade came down right in front of her. She dropped to the ground only to find that Ridley was standing there, swinging at an invisible monster.

"Help me!" Jane shouted as she was pulled into the crack and disappeared into the darkness.

A familiar voice came into Io's head once again. "Protect her." Without realizing it, Samantha's unconscienced body flew past them and was whisked away into the shadows. Io's heart sunk for a moment as this happened. Ridley's jaw dropped. Nyssia stared off into the abyss. It all happened so fast none of them realized what had happened until it was too late. The place started to rumble and quake. The ground began to shake. The cracks started to push themselves against one another and reform. The stone was solid and cold. The cracks were gone. Silence consumed them. The three were all alone. "What the hell happened!?" Io said as she looked at Ridley and Nyssia.

"Bad stuff." Nyssia said.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"You!" Io shouted towards Ridley.

"Me?" Ridley replied.

"You know where she went don't you!"

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"Just where the hell did you come from." Io ran up to Ridley and once again grabbed him by the collar of his coat and hoisted him in the air.

"It's a long story kid. But good thing we have cliff notes."

"What?"

"Look. Where Samantha and your other screaming friend went to is a place that is ruled by darkness. It is the central point of horror and imagination and we are all connected to it one way or another."

"What?"

"This is going to be a long day."

"But you came from there! You're going to take me there right now!"

"Listen grouchy I can't."

"Why not!?"

"Cause I don't know how to."

"What!?"

"Come on. Let's put me down and leave this place."

"No!?" Io shouted as she tossed Ridley to the ground. "She disappeared right here! We need to get her out of there."

"All in good time. Listen. We need to find a way to conjure enough magic and perform a similar ritual or find the doorway that will lead us there and unless you can see the doorway, you're not going to find it. So there."

This was the moment where Io got super frustrated that she picked up a small boulder and tossed it across the room, screaming and watching it shatter as it collided with the wall. Ridley stood there in silence.

As they walked out of the cave they were all feeling a bit down. "What the hell happened!? How could it have happened!?" Io shouted. Ridley and Nyssia were silent. Io marched back and forth. "What the hell was that thing? Why couldn't I see it? Where did it even come from!?"

"It came from the Umbral Sphere." Ridley answered.

Io stopped dead in her tracks and turned and looked at him.

"You could see it couldn't you? And you didn't do anything to stop it!?"

"Alright. Let me give you the details kid." Ridley said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a cigarette. "What you are dealing with is something that probably hasn't happened in the last five thousand years. This thing that we fought is known as a Gurgamet." Ridley paused for a brief moment to light the cigarette. "A Gurgamet is a creature that is about thirty feel tall. Has multiple arms that can stretch across fifty feet. And is made up of all of the tormented souls in the Umbral Sphere. That is what I saw come out of the crack. That is what I saw that took your friend and my sister away from us. And that is where we need to go."

"Wait…what?"

"Okay….I can understand this is a lot to comprehend for a lead head like you bu-"

Ridley's sentence was cut short as Io clobbered his jaw. Ridley stood still. Stunned, he slowly turned his head back to Io and said, "But…try to understand that we need to go into another world or rather another dimensional plain of existence." Ridley said as he took a deep breath.

"Damn kid, you sure can punch hard."

Io gave a tiny smile. That last sentence gave her confidence a little boost.

Ridley stood for a moment and looked at Nyssia. She was behind them, staying quiet.

"Not much for conversations aren't ya kid?" Ridley called out to her.

Nyssia looked up at him. There was fear in her eyes. She said nothing and put her head down.

"Tell me." Ridley whispered to Io. "Has that one always been a strange character?"

"Not until recently. She usually just stays in the back humming a tune."

"Any place you know of around here we can stay? A campsite? A base? A-"

"Holy shit! I forgot! Tannin!" Io shouted.

"Tannin?"

"Our friend. She was arrested by some jerks with guns."

"With guns?" Ridley smiled for a bit and took another drag out of his cigarette.

"Well. We shan't keep your friend waiting. Let's go!"

Io led the way, as best as she could. She didn't quite remember which direction they came from. All the trees started to look the same. Ridley trailed behind her along with Nyssia who still silent and held her head down. Suddenly Ridley stopped in his tracks. Beyond the trees just up ahead there was smoke rising. "Hey! Ya think that's a good sign?" Ridley said as he pointed out the smoke. Io and Nyssia stared at the smoke and started to run in that direction.

"Yeah. Sure. You're welcome." Ridley said as he stood for a brief moment before running after them.

Fire raged. Black smoke filled the skies all around them. The smell of rotten flesh had filled their noses. Io gaged for a bit. Nyssia looked on at the site and gave a slight grin.

"Oh what a shame. There was a party and we weren't invited." Ridley said as he kicked a piece of chard wood in the air. Sparks flew and disappeared into the air. The entire encampment was littered with bodies. Blood soiled the ground. Tents were brunt and torn to sherds. The wall that had surrounded the area had a massive hole in the center. The only thing that remained standing was the building in the center.

"Ya think we need to inform their next of kin?" Ridley said as he chuckled.

"You insensitive bastard!" Io yelled at him. "What makes you think you can just make fun of the dead like that?"

"Because I can and I will."

"I don't believe for one second you're related to Samantha. First of all you're an asshole. Second you're a giant lizard and third you're an asshole!"

"Correct on all three accounts. However, I am still related to little Sam Clam."

"Sam Clam?"

"Yeah. She collected clams when we were little. So naturally I called her Sam Clam. She didn't think it was funny but I thought it was hilarious."

"Obviously. So if you are her brother, then why are you a giant lizard when she is a human being and where have you been?"

"Well you see the reason why I am a giant lizard is because I pissed off a few gods and the reason why I disappeared was because I pissed off more gods."

"Heh. You know. I'm not surprised. Ass."

"You're a spunky little shit you know that?"

Io didn't bother to acknowledge that remark. She didn't even look at him. She just turned her head a way. Nyssia was sitting in front of a small fire, just staring at it.

"Hey lizard breath. What's wrong with her?" Io said pointing to Nyssia.

Ridley turned back and look at Nyssia who started to poke at the fire with a stick. "She's going to be fine. She just got a full blown taste of the Umbral Sphere in one sitting. Something that would put anyone in a dazed state. Give her some time." Ridley said as he placed his hands in his pockets and strolled over to the large building. Io looked back at Nyssia with a concern look on her face. Watching Ridley walk off like that made her angry. "How can someone be like that?" She whispered to herself. She walked over to Nyssia who was still poking the fire with a stick.

"Uh. Nyssia."

Nyssia didn't say a word but instead jerked her head up to look at Io. A smile slowly creep across her face. "Good stuff. Nice stuff. Warm stuff." She said and then resumed poking the fire with the stick.

"Come on." Io said as she helped Nyssia to stand up. "We got to go get your sister? Remember her?"

Nyssia's eyes trailed off for a sec and started at the ground. Then back up. She didn't say anything but instead displayed a childlike smile.

"There we go." Io said with a sigh of relief. Finally something positive. Nyssia skipped over to the large building where Ridley was at. He was fiddled with the controls on the side. Nyssia curiously looked over his shoulder. For a moment, Ridley paused and turned, only to acknowledge her presence with a slight nod and then went back to work. Io soon joined them.

"Okay Scaly. Tell me, what's this 'Umbral Sphere' thing is anyway?"

"Alright. If you are so eager to know. Imagine if you can, an entire new world. Yet this new world is similar to our world in a lot of the same aspects. But it's not quite right. It's like our world but not so. Now imagine that it is filled with literally every nightmare you ever had as a child and cram that onto the planet. Now also imagine total blackness because you can't see anything."

"Wait what?"

"Exactly. Only those who have been to the Umbral Sphere can see inside of it and those unfortunate to have the Umbral Eye imbedded in their skull as well." Ridley said as he motioned his head towards Nyssia who at that moment lost the smile that was on her face. Ridley continued his work on the control keypad, which was now fully ripped open with several colored wires hanging out. This wasn't the first time Ridley messed with a keypad lock. In fact this was similar to the ones he worked on while breaking out of prison. So it was ridiculously simple for him.

"What are you doing anyway?" Io asked

"Shhh….she's a sensitive machine." Ridley said with a grin.

Suddenly the doors opened. "Perfect." Ridley said as he motioned with his arms. "Ladies first."

"Gee you're right Ridley." Io said as she grabbed him by the collar of his coat and shoved him forward. "Ladies first."

Ridley gave a slight chuckle as he walked into the compound. Io followed after him and right behind her was Nyssia.

The air inside was musty. It felt heavy and thick. The lights that would have been on were off. But the light from inside had pierced the darkness, revealing other entrances inside. Ridley walked around for a bit before stopping and looking at Io.

"So where's this friend of yours anyway? This looks more like a prison than anything else."

"She was taken away and we were places in separate rooms." Io said.

"Prison. Got it. Any idea why she was incarcerated?"

"It was because she is a vampire I'm guessing."

Ridley stopped for a moment and blinked a few times. "So you made friends with a vampire?" He asked.

"Well….yes." Io said with stern in her voice. "Got a problem with that lizard breath?"

Ridley paused for a moment, failing to express his confusion properly he simple said, "Nah, It's good. Whatever."

Click. Click. A sound came from the far right side. It was Nyssia. She was trying to open the door. But it appeared to be lock. She soon got frustrated and started to kick the door. Ridley walked up to her.

"Stand back kid. You're gonna like this." Ridley then pulled out his revolver and blasted the lock off the door. He then procced to kick the door which swung open. "Doors are easier to open without locks ya know."

Nyssia gave him a sour look. He tipped his hat towards her. "Tell ya what." He said as he pulled out another revolver. "You can open the next one." Nyssia's eyes lit up and immediately a familiar grin ran across her face. She quickly grabbed the revolver and took off inside the compound.

"Umm…What did you just do?" Io said to Ridley as she walked through the doorway.

"Gave her a little confidence and a little fun."

"You gave a monkey a rifle!"

"Now that would be interesting to see." Ridley said as he chuckled.

A few more bangs echoed in the hallway and a sudden thud and crash. Ridley and Io hurried over to see that Nyssia had blasted a door and ran further inside the room. This one was different. It didn't feel so compact. Instead it stretch several stories high and full of prison cells. There were several dead bodies lying about the place. Some of their own faces were torn off. Blood painted the walls and the prison cells. Limbs were torn and scattered. The smell of decay was thick and heavy. Io gaged a bit while everyone else seemed fine with it. Nyssia ran along the side of the cells looking inside each one. They were all empty. Ridley started to check the bodies as well as check what was in their pockets. He found some wallets of cash, some coins and a few ID badges.

"Hey, what are you doing over there?" Io yelled.

"ID badges for you. Money is for me." Ridley said as he handed her a few ID badges.

"Anyone here!" Ridley shouted. His voice echoed all around the area and bounce back to them. Silence followed after.

"Thought you said this place was packed with people." Ridley said as he looked at a dead body and immediately kicked it. "Well you know. People who are still alive."

Io's face suddenly turned. She look preoccupied and worried. "Blu! Where are you?" She said as she walked off.

On the far end of the building laid a large metal door. This one had what looked like a bank vault mechanism on it. There was a large wheel in front and a few key codes and scanners on the side.

"You think she's in here?" Io asked

"Well. Either that or a shit ton of money. Which I'm fine with either way." Ridley said as he walked over to the door and then to the key pad.

"Can you open it?" a voice said behind them. They both turn to see Nyssia standing behind them.

"You opened the first one. Can you open this one too?" she said.

Both Io and Ridley were a bit puzzled. "I'll give it a shot kid." Ridley said as he took off his coat and hat and started to break open the keypad. "It's gonna take some time." He said as he pulled up and wooden crate box and sat on it. His tail flickered back and forth as he fumbled with the wires. Io stomped around in a fiery. Nyssia wondered off in a random direction. After a while a scream came out of nowhere. Then a few gun shots. And then afterwards some laughter.

"Where ya going!? We're just getting started!" Nyssia cried out. Just then from around the corner a nervous looking character bolts out and ran behind another corner. Following the nervous character was Nyssia with the revolver in her hand and a smile on her face. "It's a party! And everyone is invited!" She giggled to herself and chased after the nervous character who at this point was screaming something along the lines of, "Oh god! Please don't hurt me!"

More screaming and hollering came from around the corner as they both emerged from the shadows. Nyssia was dragging the man with the revolver pressed against his head. "Please don't hurt me."

"Oh don't worry. I don't make promises I can't keep." She giggled once more and continued to drag the man across the floor.

"Looky who I found. All cuddled up in the corner. All safe and sound without a soul to around. He must have been so lonely." Nyssia tossed the man in front of Io. Io proceed to grab the man and tossed him on a metal table.

"Alright bud. What happened here!?" She yelled at him. The man was all dirty. His clothes were torn. He was missing one shoe and his hair was short and smelled of oil.

"That's not how you get people to talk." Ridley said as he yanked a long thread of wire from the wall and walked over to the man on the table. "You got to persuade him. Have a little charisma." Ridley then wrapped the wire around the man's throat and started to throttle him. He dragged him off the table on the cold concrete floor.

"Now a few questions. One. What happened here? Two. How do you unlock that vault door? Three. You want to stay alive?" Ridley whispered into the man's ear. The man was struggling right now but certain noises that he made sounded like an agreement. Ridley nod and released his grip. The man struggled to breath for a bit. He coughed and took in a deep breath. "Okay! Okay! I'll tell you. We were attacked by the Umbralites. They emerged behind our defenses and killed everyone."

"Why didn't you die too?" Io questioned as she glared at him. "Seems a bit suspicious that you are the only one alive."

"Hey, the big bad wolf here gots a point." Ridley said as he pulled out his revolver. "Fourth question. You want both of those knee caps or just one?"

"Ah! I survived by hiding in the generator." He was fixated on the gun and stumbling with his words.

"So that's why he smells like….." Nyssia had something there and then paused. She then looked at Io wide eyed and took off running.

"Well she seems to have bounce back quite fast." Ridley commented. "Now do tell us. How do we open that vault door?"

"What? No, you can't?" The man said with worry and fear in his tone.

"Can't…..Can't…I don't like that word. Let's try it again." Ridley held the gun to the man's head and pulled back the hammer. The sound of the click made the man flinch.

"Ah! Alright I'll tell you. Behind the door is the most evil Umbralite of them all. She sneaked into our compound but we captured it. We've been running tests on it since then. You cannot let it out. It's the queen of all Umbralites. It will bring darkness on our land."

"Hate to tell you bud. But it looks like the darkness has won already." Io said as she folded her arms.

"No. It will get much worse. Their queen will be able to open the doors to the Umbral Sphere and let the Umbralites run loose in our world."

"Again. I think that has already happened." Io was getting very impatient. She rolled her eyes at the man.

"No! You don't understand…" A loud bang echoed through the compound as Ridley fired off a single shot in the air. The man flinched and rolled into a ball on the ground.

"Goddamn just shut up already and tell us how to open the vault." He took the barrel of the revolver and pressed it against the man's head. The heat from the barrel burned and sizzled his flesh. He let out a cry of pain. "One, Seven, Four, One Two!" The man started to cry. "That's the code! Please don't kill me!"

Ridley gave a slight chuckle as he stood up. "Don't worry. I won't kill you." And with that Ridley turned around and headed back to the vault door and entered in the password. The wheel of the door suddenly started to spin followed by the sound of air escaping and finally the door nudge itself open a little bit. Ridley grabbed the vault door by the handle and pulled it open. The room inside was small. There were six large containers filled with a strange color liquid. Each of the containers were hooked up to a small computer which were all linked to a large terminal that sat in the back of the room. For the most part it was dark except for a blue glow that came from the container at the end of the room, nearest to the terminal.

Inside the container at the far end was a skeleton. The blue glow came from the markings on the bones. The markings themselves were symbols and letters of a strange language. Ridley gazed at the symbols as well as the skeleton inside. Io soon followed into the vault after Ridley and looked upon the skeleton inside the container with curiosity. She knew that she had seen the same markings before as well as the blue glow. Then it hit her.

"Well shit. No gold here and neither is your friend." Ridley said as he slipped his hands in his pockets and bowed his head with disappointment.

"No…She's here." Io said as she stared at the skeleton.

"If that's her. Then she's certainly lost quite a bit of weight, along with everything else in her body..."

Io instantly turned around and punched Ridley in the face so hard that he stumbled back and came in contact with the terminal.

"Okay. Granted. I deserve that." Ridley said as he regained his balance. "She's dead you know."

"Not quite." Io said as she glanced around the room.

The container was surrounded with tight metal seals on the top and the bottom. Huge tubes ran from the terminal to the container. To the side was a small computer which Io ran up to the instant she saw it.

On the black screen was a single line beeping in bright green. Io tried typing in something.

Error….message command not available

Io would type faster and faster.

Error….System does not recognized input command

"You know that's not how to get her out right?" Ridley said as he watched Io get more and more frustrated with the computer.

Then came a sound that made Ridley turn his head away from the entertainment he was watching. It was the man they torturing just a minute ago. The sound was a click like sound that came from a submachine gun that he had in his hands.

"I….I cannot…I will not allow you to release it." He said while stuttering.

"How cute. The rat has a gun. You're not going to shoot me or her."

"Oh yeah...tough guy huh? And why is that?"

Ridley gave a slight chuckle to himself and started to walk towards the guy.

"Stop! I mean it!" He called out. Io stopped in fright and had already begun to back off from the computer. In a moment of panic the man fired off the submachine gun. Bullet flied everywhere. Io ran to dodge the hail of bullets. Ridley kept moving forward and did not get hit once. The submachine gun clicked. The man was paralyzed with fright as Ridley stood right next to him, giving him a slight grin.

"Because…" He said as he took the submachine gun from his hands. "You're a lousy shot." And with that being said Ridley took the submachine gun and smacked the man in the face with it. The man fell to the ground. Blood seep through his lips and touched the ground. His eyes closed for the time being.

"What the hell was that all about!?" Io screamed at Ridley as he walked back to her.

"Charisma my dear." He said as he smiled. "The tank is also leaking. Just in case you weren't aware."

Right next to Io was a small pool of liquid. It had a strange aroma to it that the floor didn't agree with and therefore decided to melt. Io quickly moved away from the sizzling mess that was now getting larger and larger. It got to a point where both Ridley and Io shifted out of the room but not before dragging the unconscious man away from an unnecessary acid bath.

It was not long before the skeleton inside the container started to bob up and down as the liquid slowly leaked out. As the acid settled Io and Ridley carefully made their way inside. The container was empty of the acid but the skeleton remained cleaned. It wasn't long before a strange fluid started to ooze from the skeleton. The ooze covered the skeleton and turn from a clear color to red. The symbols on the bones of the skeleton started to pulsate and glow brighter. As more and more red goo covered the skeleton more and more features were taking shape. The formation of the heart and then the lungs. The eyes being formed. Tiny specs of black hair sprouting. Muscle being formed around the bones and taking shape. The scene was a bit gory for Io as she turned to the side and puked. Ridley watched with fascination as the process continued. Suddenly the corpus started to move its head and with its eyes it looked around. It then let out a horrific scream. It rolled on the ground. Kicking and screaming as its skin was covering the body. Black lines swirled throughout the skin and finally settled. The blue glow finally ceased and for a brief moment there was silence. Then in a flash the body sat up. It was Ellipsis.

She starred out into the distance. She sat in the container. Confused and dazed, she started to pound on the glass. She appeared to be in a state of panic. She swung her head back and forth and started crying out in a strange language.

Ridley stared for a moment and started to laugh. "Oh, you poor thing."

"Stop laughing you ass! She's stuck in there." Io glanced over at the container, searching for a way to get her out.

"That's not why I am laughing." Ridley said as he pulled out his revolver. "Better duck!" He shouted to Ellipsis. Ellipsis's eyes opened wide with fear and ducked down as several bullet ripped through the container. She screamed out as shards of glass fell onto her. The moment she got up she was met with Ridley staring at her. She stared at him with fear. It was his smile as well as the fact that she was naked that made her uncomfortable. But that was tossed aside for a brief moment as he took his coat and threw it at her.

"Clean yourself up eh?" And with that he walked off. He stopped before leaving the vault room, turned to Io and said, "Well guess it was your friend all along."

"You asshole, you could have hurt her!"

"Ah. But I didn't" And with that he turned around and headed back outside. The only thing that Ridley heard after that made him chuckle. "Who the fuck was that?"

After some time Io emerged from the vault carrying Ellipsis who was wrapped in Ridley's coat. Ridley on the other hand had been setting up a small campsite in the compound. With random sheets and furniture he managed to make an adult pillow fort.

"Busy I see." Io said as she carried Ellipsis to a pillow cushion that was resting on the ground.

"Not much here to make anything really." Ridley said as he leaned back on a table cloth that he found in one of the break rooms. Io then spotted a bunch of sheets all rolled up in a bundle.

"Where did you find that?" Io said as she walked over and pressed her foot against it.

"That…is our mystery guest. He's been passed out ever since."

"Awesome." Io said. Io then looked at the bundle and with all of her might she kicked the bundle so hard it rolled a few feet.

"Rope is also something that's hard to find here. Apparently it was chewed on by whatever else was here."

Ellipsis sat on the pillow cushion, silent. She stared at her feet. She kept herself wrapped up in the coat.

Ridley then eyed the coat, rolled over and stood up. Ellipsis eyed Ridley as he got up and moved towards her. Frighten, she didn't move or make a sound but instead just stared.

"Pardon me miss. I have a few smokes in there I would love to get my claws on." Ridley said as he reached over inside his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Hey…" Ellipsis said as Ridley walked off. Ridley stop in his tracks, turned around and replied, "Yeah?"

"Can I have a cigarette?"

And with that Ridley showed a small grin as he walked back over to Ellipsis and handed her a cigarette. As soon as Ellipsis's was lit Ridley turned around and was faced with Io. She was looking a bit tense. Ridley didn't say anything. He only assumed. Io took a cigarette too and sat back on the rolled up bundle of sheets, which at this point, started to make grunting sounds. A few punches on it and it suddenly stopped. Ridley took his lone cigarette, laid down on the ground, lit it up and blew a puff of smoke.

"So where do we go from here?" He said as he stared up at the ceiling and watched the smoke danced away from his face.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

A cold breeze wipe passed her face. The ground was hard and cold to the touch. Voices in the air. Samantha woke with a stir. She let out a scream. It echoed. She looked around. Darkness filled her eyes. A hand reached out to her. She screamed again and stumbled away, bumping into the wall.

"Samantha?" The voice called out. "I can't see." It was Jane. Samantha rubbed her eyes for a bit and suddenly realized where they were. It was a cave. A fairly small cave. Her head was barely touching the ceiling. Jane was on the ground. Crawling on her hands and knees. Samantha went over to her.

"I'm here, don't worry…" But her words were cut short. As Samantha stared into Jane's eyes she saw that they were engulf in a white light. "I can't see." Jane said.

"Don't worry. I'll help you." Samantha said as she picked up Jane and helped her move forward. They wondered through the cave for a bit before Samantha saw a bright white light in the distance. In a moment of relief she helped Jane moved towards the light. What she saw next made her stood still in silence.

There was a huge white bar that stretched across the sky. Full of bright white light it illuminated the area around them. The wind was calm and gentle. They were standing on top of a hill. As Samantha looked down she saw what looked like a small town. Up above them, a loud roar shocked them to their core as an enormous wooden ship flew passed them in the sky. It rocked itself further into the sky with large engines on its stern and flew into the white bar that stretched across the sky. Jane panicked.

"What was that!?"

"Something magnificent." Samantha said as she gazed with wonder and delight at the sight of the ship flying off into the horizon.


End file.
